WTOP: NFL owners Thursday unanimously approved the sale of the Washington Commanders to a group led by Philadelphia 76ers owner Josh Harris, clearing the way for the record-breaking deal — and putting the final nail in Dan Snyder’s reign as owner of the franchise, according to multiple reports.
At $6 billion, the Commanders sale is the largest for a North American professional sports franchise.
The vote came after a lengthy closed-door meeting in Minneapolis that lasted nearly three hours, fueling fan anticipation. The meeting began at about 2 p.m. In order to be approved, at least 24 of the 32 owners had to OK the sale.
“I think there are high expectations for everybody. I think there’s a sigh of relief,” Frank Herzog, longtime radio voice for Washington’s football team, told WTOP. “I think the new owners have got a lot to do. Boy, there’s a lot on their list.”
According to multiple reports, former U.S. Attorney and SEC chair Mary Jo White, who was hired by the NFL last year to investigate various allegations of workplace misconduct and business improprieties, was at the meeting to brief NFL owners about the status of her investigation ahead of the vote.
News that the sale was nearing completion circulated earlier this week, when The Washington Post reported the NFL’s finance committee had voted to unofficially recommend the league’s owners approve the team’s sale to the Harris group.
Speculation about the team’s sale reached a fever pitch in April, when it was reported that the Harris group, which includes Magic Johnson, had reached an agreement with Snyder to buy the team in a $6 billion deal — an NFL record.
At that time, Snyder and his wife Tanya, who is the team’s co-owner and co-CEO, said in a statement they were pleased to have reached an agreement for the sale of the franchise.
“We look forward to the prompt completion of this transaction and to rooting for Josh and the team in the coming years,” the Snyders said.
The Dan Snyder era
Snyder, a Maryland native, bought the team he rooted for as a child in 1999 for $750 million, and swore he would never sell the team despite mounting criticism throughout his years of ownership. He also said the team would never change its name.
“We will never change the name of the team,” Snyder said back in 2013. “We’ll never change the name. It’s that simple. NEVER — you can use caps.”
But pressure from sponsors, including FedEx, PepsiCo and Nike, forced Snyder to change the team’s name in 2020. The team’s former name had been the subject of criticism and protest from Native American advocates and experts who said the old name is defined as a racial slur.
For almost two years, the team was called the Washington Football Team, until 2022, when it became the Washington Commanders.
The team — and Snyder’s leadership — has been beset by controversy in recent years.
After multiple investigations by the league and Congress into Washington’s workplace misconduct and potential financial improprieties, a congressional report found Snyder played a role in a toxic culture, The Associated Press reported. These allegations included sexual harassment, a reported “tip sheet” used to put together an “enemies list,” and investigation interference, among others.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has previously said the findings of the Mary Jo White investigation would still be released even when the team is sold, according to The Associated Press. White was tasked to look into various aspects of the organization.
In July 2021, the NFL fined the team $10 million after a misconduct investigation. This was followed by a team announcement that Snyder would step down from day-to-day operations for several months. Two weeks later, Snyder and his wife, Tanya, took their first step toward selling the team by hiring Bank of America Securities to explore a possible sale.
Another crack in Snyder’s hold over team ownership came up last October, when Indiana Colts owner Jim Irsay became the first to suggest there was “merit to remove” Snyder as owner.
Who is Josh Harris?
Like Snyder, Harris grew up in Maryland. In addition to Magic Johnson, Harris’ ownership group includes Washington-area billionaire Mitchell Rales and David Blitzer. Harris and Blitzer have owned the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers since 2011 and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils since 2013.
“They’ve got to return the integrity of the franchise, and they’ve got to solve their real estate problems. And the integrity issue, I think, is going to be taken care of by the ownership, especially Mitch Rales … He’s a man of great integrity. ” Herzog said.
“We look forward to running a world-class organization and making significant investments on and off the field to achieve excellence and have a lasting and positive impact on the community,” Harris said last May.
One of the new owners’ first challenges will be the development of a new stadium to replace FedEx Field, which was ranked as the worst stadium in the league, located in Landover, Maryland.
